


Zutara's Adventure

by CMS521



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crack, F/M, for like the first half
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-05
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2017-12-17 17:38:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 17,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/870180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMS521/pseuds/CMS521
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Katara and Zuko get separated from the group and a huge journey ensues. They meet unlikely people and things. During their travels, they also meet a person who is important to both of them and they realize what it means to love.</p><p>Note: mini story/flashback towards some of the last chapters really off canon and entirely different than anything I've seen out there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pulled by the Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the beginning is really bad. I did the beginning quite a while ago, so when it gets to about chapter 15 and on it should be better (i hope). Hope you guys enjoy it!!!

Part 1

 

 

It started out as a normal day.  The gaang got up at sunrise, at the western air temple, so that all the chores could begin.  Sokka went out to hunt for food, Zuko taught Aang firebending, Suki and Katara cooked, and everyone else was playing or earth bending in the halls of the temple.  Breakfast also went on normally, but as everyone was finishing they heard a loud BOOM in the distance.  Everyone looked over to the spot where the explosion came from.  It came again, louder this time and more distinct.

“Maybe we should leave,” suggested the Duke.  Then again the explosion came closer almost right above them.

“We shouldn't go on Appa.  That would make us too much of a target.” Zuko said.

“Well I think we need to get going and soon because we'll be blown off this cliff if we don't hurry.”  Sokka said nervously.  Toph, who was sitting by the walls of the temple, stood up and began to earthbend the rock into a large tunnel so that the whole group could escape.  Everyone began scrambling into the large hole, so they wouldn't be smashed to death by the large amounts of rock falling from the ceiling.  Aang went into the tunnel last making sure to seal it properly.  Toph bended for a little while before they came across a series of tunnels making it unnecessary for bending.  They came to a halt at an underground river.

Everyone holding their breath, hardly daring to talk in fear of being heard.  They all sat around a small fire provided by Aang and Zuko.  Suki cooked the little provisions they had so that they could eat a small dinner before going to sleep.  Everything began to take a less tense atmosphere as they all ate their food.  They all started talking about what was going to happen after the war was through and what lives they would go back to.  The gaang decided it best that later the next day that Suki, Sokka, Toph, Katara, Zuko, and Aang find a campsite for them, so that the plans could be continued as planned, while everyone else found a different place to stay as far away as possible from the other camp.

The next day, or what seemed like it, was a busy one.  Toph was trying to find the best way out while the others packed what little they had.  Once they were all ready, Toph was ready guiding them through the tunnels choosing the best paths for them.  They stopped every once in a while so that Toph and Aang could decide which way was the best and how far they had come.  At the end of that day, they found an area so that they could all sleep.  With the fire in the middle, Sokka slept next to Suki and Katara, Katara next to Toph, in her earth tent, who was next to Zuko, and Aang was next to Zuko.

Katara couldn't sleep that night for several reasons, one that it was musty in the caverns, and two it was a full moon that night and even though she couldn't see it she could feel it.  She lay awake for hours until the urge to go outside was too great.  She packed her bag knowing full well that she probably wouldn't be able to find her way back to the gaang, and was off.  She was so focused on finding the exit she didn't notice there was someone following her.  Katara finally got outside into the open.  She gazed at the stars and the moon, feeling a relief of the musty tunnel and the lack of space.  Her follower ran towards the bushes in hope not to be seen.

Katara felt a being close by.  She concentrated on that thought, and was able to bend the body to her will.  She made the person come out of the bushes to face her, so that she could imprison them for when she got back to the gaang.  As the person stepped out from the bushes, she noticed it was a teenage boy a little older that her.  
Probably a scout for the fire nation.  She thought.  He looks really handsome with his muscular chest and torso.  Why is he shirtless?  Isn't he supposed to be in uniform.  Well at least he isn't giving up much of a fight.

Katara manipulated him to kneel in front of her.

He has nice golden eyes.  I wonder if all of the fire nation guys are this hot?

She took out water from the near by plants and started to encase the stranger's body with water.  She froze it all so that only his head was sticking out of a case of ice.

“Now,” she said in a sweet, but cold voice, “I want to know who you are, what you're doing here and how you would like to live the rest of your life.”

“Well,” said a deep voice, strangely familiar to Katara, “to answer your first question I'm Zuko, I'm following you because no one should wander in caves alone in the middle of the night, and I don't plan to be in ice for the rest of my life.”

“Oh, sorry Zuko.  I didn't mean to do that.  I thought you were a soldier.” Katara melted the ice around Zuko's body.  I can't believe I thought that he was hot.

“Sorry about sneaking up on you.  It was kind of a last minute thing.”

There was an awkward silence between them as Katara was standing looking down at Zuko kneeling in a very submissive manner.  He stood up and got his pack from the bushes.  They both unpacked; when Katara was done she went to go get fire wood.  When she got back, she found that Zuko had gotten food while she was gone.  She cooked it over the fire.  They ate the meal and found their sleeping backs.  Katara moved it so that it was as far away from Zuko's as possible.  She sat staring at the fire, thinking back to what the full moon meant to her.  She buried her face in her knees and started to cry.

Why did I follow Katara in the first place?  I mean it's not like I really like her or anything.  Why are her shoulders shaking like that?

Realization flooded Zuko as he looked at the waterbender.  He moved closer to her as silently as possible.  Hoping that she wouldn't take it as a threat.  She was still sobbing by the time Zuko had gotten to her side.  He awkwardly put an arm around her.  He hoped that she wouldn't give him a cold shoulder.  Instead she in turn wrapped her arms around him.  She had never let her guard down once in front of Zuko and now she was crying away in his arms.

He carefully wrapped both of his arms around her and put her in his lap.  By now his shoulder was drenched with tears.  He kept both of his arms around her until she had stopped crying.  When she did, he realized that she was shivering too.  He applied a little heat from his arms to her body, as to warm her more.

She slipped into sleep soon afterward.  Zuko brought her over to her sleeping bag, and set her down.  As soon as she was out of his arms, she was shivering again, so loudly that there was no way Zuko could ignore it.  He put his sleeping bag next to hers and wrapped his arm around her, applying heat.  They stayed there the whole night and morning.


	2. Run in with Trouble

Part 2

Katara was the first to wake up.  She recalled all the events from the night before, and remembered how she let all her emotions show in front of Zuko.  She remembered going to sleep in his arms.

So if I fell asleep in his arms why am I laying down?

She opened her eyes and found herself in her sleeping bag with someone's arm wrapped around her waist.  She rolled over to find her face had been right under Zuko's.  She had cuddled up next to him all night and hadn't know it.  She had been thinking it was Jet or someone like that who had happened to find her.

“Finally decided to wake up huh?” The new voice among the quietness had startled her, and she jumped at the sound of it.

“Good morning to you too.  I always love being woken up with a head bumping my chin.” Zuko said sarcastically.

“What happened last night?” Katara said unexpectedly.

“Well you started crying, and I came over to comfort you.  Then you began to shiver, so I firebended heat through my arms to you.  And you fell asleep, so I put you in your sleeping bag.  You started to shiver again and....um...I couldn't just let you freeze so I...um...had to sleep next to you to keep your body temperature normal.”

Katara looked down at her sleeping bag and up at him.

“I did move my sleeping bag over next to yours...ok...I wouldn't do anything to harm you.”

Zuko got up and started to get all of his things packed up, and Katara realized what he was saying.  She was freezing without him next to her.  She started to make breakfast when she noticed Zuko staring at her.  He quickly looked away blushing.

Ok now I'm seeing things.  She thought to herself.

When they had eaten and they were all packed they went looking for the nearest shelter because the cave somehow disappeared.  They came across a small town where they bought all the provisions that they needed.  While they were there they came across some soldiers.

“You there, young girl, have you seen a group of people from the southern water tribe, the earth kingdom, the Fire Nation Prince, or the Avatar?”

“Act like you don't know a thing.” Zuko whispered in Katara's ear.

“No, sir, I haven't.  Isn't the Avatar supposed to be dead anyway?”

“No ma'am he's alive, and you'd better be telling the truth or you will pay for consequences.”

Zuko and Katara walked away as quickly as they could before they heard yells and feet pounding behind them.  They broke into a sprint, running for the forest.

The soldiers must have recognized me.  Zuko thought.

He grabbed Katara's wrist and pulled her into an alley that lead to the forest and to the mountain.  They were over thrown and surrounded by soldiers after several minutes.  The firebenders were in fighting stance when Katara was able to get them all under her will.  She bloodbended as many as she could, while Zuko fought the rest.

They were finally able to get out with them all confused or very injured, and they ran for the mountain.  They stopped once they were on the other side and by a stream.  Katara wasn't too injured, but Zuko was a different story.  His right shoulder was burnt, his shirt was torn to bits, his legs were cut, and his left cheek was bleeding.  Katara finally got him to lie down so that she could heal him.

“You're very stubborn.  You know that right?” she said while manipulating water onto his leg.

“I guess I am.”  Zuko watched with interest as all the cuts on his leg healed.  Katara helped him take off his shirt, so that she could heal his shoulder.  She realized that he had a lot more that just a burn.  After healing his shoulder she looked at his side to find a larger one.  She turned Zuko over on to his back to find that the burn on his side was nothing compared to the raw flesh of his back.  She carefully worked her way all over it, while Zuko groaned.  He said nothing because of the pain.  Katara found that the only scratch that was left was the one on his cheek.

Katara turned Zuko over carefully.  Zuko, still in pain, groaned again.  Katara brought the water to Zuko's cheek, and he flinched at the sight of it being so close to his face.  Katara brought it slowly to his face resting in gently on the gash.  Zuko closed his eyes.  After a few seconds the cut was healed and Katara put all the extra water back in the stream.  By the time they were done, it was night time again.  Katara helped Zuko put his sore body into a sleeping bag, and set hers down next to his.  She got in hers, but sat there staring into the void of space.

“Why were you crying last night, Katara?” Zuko asked after a large amount of silence.

“That is none of your business,” Katara replied coldly.

“But you seemed really upset about it and I was wondering if I could...well...you know.....help?”

Katara stared at Zuko.

Him offering to help me even though he doesn't know what it is or how hard it would be to do.  I don't buy it for one second.  I won't let him help.

“Zuko I don't need help, and I wouldn't take it from the likes of you either.”  Zuko was surprised by the way she responded.  He didn't think that it was a large problem, but he saw that it was bigger that even she could handle.

The night was cold, colder than it had been the night before.  They got in their sleeping bags and tried to fall asleep.  Katara, who was freezing to death, couldn't help wonder how a firebender could not wear a shirt in the freezing weather.  Zuko caught her starring at him.

“You cold?” he asked.

“Yeah, why?” she asked cautiously.

“I could come over there to warm you up.” Zuko suggested

“I'm fine thanks,” Katara responded coldly.

Zuko got up and put his sleeping bag next to hers.  She tried to move away, but Zuko scooped her up in his arms playfully.  Katara kicked and squirmed, her arms aimed to hit Zuko's face.  


	3. Training

The next day was pretty much getting away from the area which they were camping.  They went several miles before stopping, and were both worn out.

“Hey...I was wondering...um...if you would like to....um...train with me?” Zuko said out of the blue.  It was true that they were out of practice, and they had to get back on a regular training schedule, so they met by the river before lunch time.

Why does he always have to practice shirtless?  I mean really.

Why does she always have practice in her underwear?  Couldn't she wear some clothes once in a while?

Zuko threw a couple a fireballs at Katara, who blocked them in turn as if it was child's play.  This set off a thick screen of steam between the two.  Katara took the water from the river and made octopus tentacles for her arms.  She sent them flying at Zuko who broke them with a fire whip.  Katara advanced through the stream to Zuko's side, sending a large wave after her.  Zuko stepped back just in time.  The wave crashed into where he was standing earlier, knocking down all the trees with in 2 square feet.  He sent a large fire wipe towards Katara who in turn had sent her tentacle to him.  The weaved their way closer and closer to each other.  They got so close it would be deadly to bend, so they fought hand to hand.

Katara fought well even though Zuko was stronger.  She was able to get him backed up agains a rock for a few seconds, but Zuko was able to release himself from her grasp.  They were equally matched.  They fought with the same rhythm, like they were dancing.

Zuko, after an hour, was able to pin Katara to the ground.  Katara struggled until they locked eyes.  Zuko had lostened his grip just enough for Katara to break free, but she didn't.  She stayed pinned to the ground, looking into Zuko's ember like eyes.  She thought about how people's eyes are the gateways to people's souls.  When she looked into his, she saw hurt, and something else she couldn't quite make out.

Zuko looked into Katara's ocean blue eyes.

Her eyes are like the water; they change so often.  She's confused about something.

Zuko got off Katara and laid on his back next to her.  They laid there for a couple of minutes staring into space.  Katara shifted her position, so she was laying on her side, facing Zuko.  She moved closer to him, and put her head by his scared ear.

“What's the matter?”  she asked with a soft, dreamlike voice.  Her voice tickled his ear; he shuddered.

“Why would you care?  No one wants to know how a banished prince feels.” Zuko responded coldly.

“Well, why don't you talk about it?”

“It's hard...I just....well...I'm just confused.”

“About what?”

“My whole life.”  Zuko answered hotly.

“Well then what's bothering you most?”

“Why would you care?”

Why does he keep popping up this question?  I mean why does he care?  …......Why do I care?

“Because I worry about you.  You always go off on your own to who know where between meals and training, and you don't really talk much.”

“Well you seem to be the last person who would be interested in how I feel.  YOU HATE ME.  EVEN AFTER I BROUGHT YOU YOUR FATHER; YOU STILL ACTED AS IF I HAD MURDERED YOUR BEST FRIEND.”

There was dead silence between them.

Zuko broke the silence.  “Look I'm sorry for whatever I did, ok.  I just don't want to be hated any more.  I never understood why you hated me.  Could you shed some light.”

“I..I just always connected firebenders as flesh eating monsters ever since there was that raid in our village when I was small.  The captain was so horrible to out village.  I guess I though every firebender was that way.”

“So that's why you've been mad at me for 3 weeks?”

“Yeah....I guess.   So what's bothering you?”

“My mom.  She and my uncle were the only people in my family who cared about me, and right now I don't even know if my mom's alive.  So is that really why you hated me?”

“Well I think I also had to vent some things to something so I chose the most reasonable.”

“So....Why me?”

“Um....that's where things get complicated.”  Katara lifted her hand up to Zuko's face to stroke it just like she did in the catacombs in Ba Sing Se.  Zuko closed his eyes, letting her cool hand go over calming his every nerve.

“Katara can I tell you something?”


	4. Emotions Running Wild

Part 4  
What could he possibly want to tell me? Katara wondered. He's never been so open before. I wonder what happened?

“Sure,” she replied, sitting up to get a better view of his face while he talked.

“I . . . I don't know how to say this, but I wanted to ask you about you mom. Can you remember her at all?” he asked. He really wanted to ask a different question, but this was the best he could think of on the spot.

“Well, she's the kindest person I can remember, and she always cared for Sokka and I,” Katara responded. She was being genuine, but she wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her. For a second, she thought she saw Zuko's face show some sort of regret, but the second she blinked, it was gone. “She was always there for me, and it was hard when she left –” She started to cry, thinking about her mother always did this to her, no matter how many times Katara spoke about her mother, she couldn't get over the fact that she was gone. She tried to regain control of her emotions to continue talking, but she couldn't.

Zuko didn't know what to do. He was torn between comforting her and respecting her pride. He tried to compromise with a hand rubbing circles on her back, but she only seemed to cry harder. He gave up that attempt and pulled her into a comforting hug.

She sobbed into his chest, crying on him for the second time in two days. She couldn't bear the thought, but she felt so safe in his arms, like nothing would be able hurt her ever again. Zuko's strong arms held her while she cried her heart out.

Zuko couldn't help but think of his own mom. She was the reason he was alive right now. She was the reason he was able to be here in this campsite. He had never gotten to thank her for everything that she had done, but he would think about her later. He had to worry about Katara and how to find the gaang.

When Katara was finished crying, she stood up from Zuko's embrace and started to pack their belongings.

“What are you doing that for?” he asked her. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he tried to keep up with the quick pace Katara's emotions seemed to be running on.

“We have to go; we've spent too much time here, and I think that the army is closing in on us. Can't you hear their footsteps?”

Zuko listened intently. He heard the army marching. He doubted that it was just to find him and Katara, but he still didn't want to be caught.

Zuko helped Katara packing their campsite, and they headed down river.


	5. Looking into the Valley

Part 5

The river was shallow in most parts, occasionally as deep as Katara's waist. The trees along the banks concealed their movements, and allowed them to move more freely than walking through the forest.

Katara and Zuko walked in the river for several hours before reaching a cliff where the river cascaded down into a very nice water fall. The valley that the river flowed into looked different from the rest of the places that they had seen in the fire nation. It looked more primitive. The trees in the valley looked three or four times the size of the trees that were in the forest Katara and Zuko had just come out of, and those trees were fairly tall, themselves. Large creatures were flying around in the distance above the trees, while some creature's faces could be seen above the foliage.

Katara and Zuko stood in awe for a good minute before they heard something behind rustling the leaves of the bushes. They turned around, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

Deciding it was nothing, they turned back to the valley, to stare in wonder. 

“Katara,” Zuko started, “where are we?”

“I don't know. I don't think anyone lives in this valley, what about you?”

“Honestly, I wasn't aware there was a valley on this island. It's not on any of the maps we have or anything.”

“Hmmmm,” Katara hummed, while thinking about the thing that had made the rustling noise a few moments earlier. As they were thinking in silence, an earthquake started. Katara and Zuko fell to the ground, right by the edge of the cliff, and, just as they hit the ground, the side of the cliff fell down to the bottom of the valley.

Katara and Zuko tried to stay on their piece of rock as long as possible, but they were soon both thrown off the rock. They fell down into the valley, and, as soon as they hit the bottom of the valley, they passed out.


	6. Everything is Falling

Part 6

_Katara's POV_

Where am I? I asked myself as I woke up with a splitting head ache. I was laying down on a soft patch of grass next to a really tall rock wall. I couldn't remember how I had gotten there. The last thing I remembered was talking with Zuko about . . . . the valley.

Everything came back to me in a flash.

The earthquake.

The cliff falling apart.

Falling off the rock.

Falling on the ground.

Well, I thought, that explains why my head hurts so much. Wait, so, if I'm over here, then where's Zuko?

I got up from where I was lying on the ground and started walking around looking for him. I found the piece of the cliff that had broken off, so that meant that Zuko was supposed to be close by. I looked around the small clearing right by the cliff, only to find absolutely nothing.

I don't think he walked off, I though, because he'd be looking for me, right?

_Zuko's POV_

I woke up to dull pain everywhere in my body. I didn't know where I was, and, as I opened by eyes, all I could see was green.

Slowly, I recollected the events that had just happened. I remembered falling off the cliff, and the rock, but where was I now. My thoughts were slightly fuzzy, and as I tried to shift to get up, I felt a sharp pain in all my limbs and my green world turned black.

_Katara's POV_

I sure hope he hasn't left, I thought in a panic. He wouldn't leave me here, without doing something to try and find me, right? I was racked with doubt, not wanting to believe that he would just leave me, or that he had fallen in a place that I would never find.

In the small clearing that I had landed in, the river that we had been following cascaded down the cliff's face into a large pond at the edge of the cliff. The clearing that the pond resided in was carpeted with a soft grass. Beyond the grass clearing, a dense and untamed mess of jungle started. Above the clearing was a canopy of leaves, not so thick as to block out the sunlight, as I was sure the rest of the forest's canopy did, but so thin as to see the light blue sky.

As I was staring up at the canopy, a strange color caught by eye. Amongst all the green, there was a small red color about 30 ft above the floor. I took some water from the pond and water bended it to rustle the foliage around the red … flower it seemed like. As I began to move the leaves around, I noticed that the red flower seemed bigger than I had anticipated. I continued by prodding only to scream as something large that was attached to the flower fell from the canopy.


	7. Zuko's Back!!!

Part 7

Katara screamed as the large object fell to the floor of the clearing. The object made a large thud as it hit the floor. Katara pulled more water from the pond. She wanted to be prepared in case the object was dangerous.

As Katara cautiously got closer to the object, she realized that it looked more like a person. She let her water drop to the forest floor, and walked over the body. As Katara got closer, she realized it was Zuko. He had fallen from the canopy above.

Katara slowly turned Zuko over onto his back.

_Zuko's POV_

I woke to this intense jolt of pain after a sensation of falling. I slowly opened my eyes to find Katara looking at me worriedly. I only saw her for a second before my world became black again.

_Katara's POV_

Zuko's eyes opened for just a moment before closing again. I knew he was hurt, but I couldn't tell how hurt. I got some water from the pond, and started to look over his body to see if I could find any evident traces of injury.

His arm broken and bent in all the wrong ways, was the first thing I healed. I healed everything I saw, but I wasn't sure whether or not there were any internal injuries.

After healing what I saw, I decided to pull him near the pond so that I could look around the clearing some more, but still be able to see him.

For some reason the water fall intrigued me. It had an air of mystery around it that I felt around the valley, but it seemed more concentrated by the waterfall. 

I started to walk to the waterfall when I heard a groan from Zuko. He seemed to have woken up.

I walked over to him to help him up.

“Where am I?” he asked, sitting up with a slightly dazed look in his eyes.

“We fell from the cliff by the river, and you got stuck in the trees. I didn't know it was you, so I sort of pulled at the leaves around you, and you fell...” I answered hesitantly.

“Well. I'm not hurt right now,” Zuko said, realizing that he had been in a lot of pain when he had woken up in the … canopy.

“That's because I healed you,” I said shyly. “Did I miss something?”

“No,” he said rather quickly. “You did a good job. I'm just kinda sore.” Zuko slowly got up from sitting by the pond and stretched.

Suddenly, I realized that I was just about to explore the waterfall. I had forgotten all about it with Zuko waking up, and I still hadn't gotten to look at it.

“Zuko,” I said.

“Yes,” he responded, turning to face me.

“I was going to look at the waterfall. You can stay here if you're not up to it.”

“I can come. I'll be fine.” Zuko took a couple of steps towards the waterfall, on the other side of the pond, and winced slightly.

Before I could say anything, he smiled and said, “I'm fine, Katara.” I concealed my worry with a smile and turned toward the water fall.

As we walked the circumference of the pond, Zuko took in the sites of the clearing. It wasn't much, but the plant life was different than we had expected.

When we got closer to the waterfall, we could feel the energy that surrounded it. The water didn't have any special healing properties, I had already checked, so I had no idea what it could be.

When we got to the cliff wall, we noticed that the waterfall didn't run along the wall. It fell several feet from the wall, but we did notice that there was a large cave right behind the fall.

As we got closer and closer, the energy became more concentrated. We had to stop as we came to the pond's edge. The pond continued into the cave. There were circular stepping stones that lead to the entrance of the cave from the bank we were standing on.

I took the lead before Zuko could object. I walked from stone to stone before I got the the entrance, and Zuko was right behind me. As I looked into the dark cave, I had an uneasy feeling come upon me.

Before I knew it, something with sharp claws had grabbed me by my hands and pulled me into the cave.


	8. Part 8

Zuko's POV

Before I knew what was happening, I saw something with claws grab Katara and pull her into the cave. I didn't think while I ran in after the thing that grabbed her. I tripped over the stepping stones that were raised above the water that still lapped at the bottom of the cave.

I heard Katara's scream from somewhere deeper in the cave. I couldn't let the monster hurt her at all. I'd never be able to forgive myself.

All too soon, I saw a light up ahead; I could also see the monster's black form with Katara in tow. I sped up so that I could reach them before they got out of the cave.

Just as I reached the monster, it darted into the light. The light blinded my eyes for a moment, and, as I oriented myself, I saw the monster running in front of me with Katara. I ran after them.

I was finally able to catch up with the monster.

Katara's POV

I don't know how long the monster ran, but I was dimly aware of the cave around me, as I tired to keep the pain from my mind. Suddenly the cave seemed to grow brighter. I saw Zuko for a second before the light blinded me momentarily. The light was coming from somewhere above us, but it didn't matter. Zuko began to run after the monster again and had finally caught up with the horrid thing.

General POV

As Zuko caught up with the monster, he tackled it to the ground. He couldn't risk fire bending because the monster was still holding Katara.

Zuko wrestled with the monster for a moment before ripping Katara out of it's arms. He began bending, now that Katara was a little safer. Zuko threw several fire balls as the creature got on its feet. The monster only rolled into a somersault to dodge the fireballs before stretching out its hand, talons and all, to cut Zuko to ribbons.

Zuko had managed to jump out of the way in the nick of time, while kicking his leg up to throw a line of fire in the monster's direction.

The monster easily dodged the fire that was sent towards him, and, instead of going after Zuko again, it sprinted to where Katara was laying, picked her up, held a talon to her throat, and grinned with its sharp pointed teeth showing.

Zuko dropped the fighting stance he had assumed after his recovery. He stood still, lips drawn, facing the monster that had Katara's life in its talons.

The monster's grin grew as it watched Zuko's demeanor change.

Katara, still somewhat blinded by pain, was vaguely aware of the talon that was pressed against her throat, and Zuko standing quite close, doing absolutely nothing.

The monster spoke, for the first time, "You are wise, small human, to keep still while I have your mate's life in my hand." The monster's voice was a deep, airy, but gravelly voice that made one thing that the monster had lived longer than the earth.

"What else would I do?" Zuko said quietly, keeping his eyes trained on the talon at Katara's neck. "But you did make one mistake. She's not my mate."

"Ahh," said the monster thoughtfully, "not yet, you mean. I see your vision is still clouded by everything of the upper world. You will soon see the true way things are done in the lower levels of the world."

Zuko remained silent, pondering what the monster had said, when all of a sudden, Katara spoke up.

"I don't mean to be a bother, Mr. Monster, but my hand is really hurting, and siting like this doesn't help," she said through the pain.

"I will let you go as soon as the air reaches the boy's head," it replied. "For now, we continue forward. The boy may come if he wishes, but you must come with me." As the monster finished speaking, it picked her up and started towards the center of the large cavern.

Zuko's POV

I ran after the monster and Katara as they started moving again. They were walking now, and I was able to see where I was. It was still some sort of a large cave that was illuminated by a light at the roof of the cave. The floor of the cave was no longer flooded with water, but covered in a soft grass, and off to the right, a river flowed. I didn't like going further into the large cavern, but I didn't have a choice. I followed silently hoping we were going to be able to get back somehow to the gaang.


	9. Part 9

As Katara and Zuko went with the monster deeper in the cave, they felt a sort of peace come over them. They didn't feel afraid of the monster or where it was taking them.

Zuko and Katara's mind was continually filled with the landscape and the serenity that weighed in the air. All around them, animals appeared, but only if you looked long enough and hard enough, other wise the animals would blend in with the foliage. The animals themselves were not like anything they had seen before, either. Most animals were either smaller or larger, depending on what type of animal. For instance, all the mice and rodents were a good three times the size of normal rodents, but animals like the bears and deer were about half their normal size. The animals all seemed to get along, and they were not bothered by the two humans and monster walking through their forest.

After several hours of walking through the large cavern, they started to come to the end of the cavern. There was a large hole on the back wall of the cave, and the hole seemed to be ornately decorated.

As they got closer to the decorated hole, they could see a circle of broken shards that levitated inside the mouth of the cave. The broken shards emitted an eery glow. Right behind the shards, stood four other monsters, much like the one escorting them now, all sitting in a circle with one empty seat at the back of the cave.

As we entered the cave, passing the glowing shards, one of the monsters spoke.

"I can't believe you took so long. How hard is it to get two scrawny benders inside this cave? Do you know how long we have been waiting, Zerubelub?" asked the monster that sat with its back to the right side of the cave.

"Patience is a virtue, Gideoni," said Zerubelub, the monster escorting us. Gideoni bowed his head as Zerubelub guided us to his seat at the far end of the cave. "Now, I have the benders here with me, so shall we proceed with the problem at hand?" The rest of what looked like some sort of a council nodded their heads. "Good. Now you benders, sit down so you're more comfortable. The reason we brought you here was so that you could help us. You see, we do not belong here, we belong to a distant place that you can only begin to imagine, but our home, the valley and cave we are in now, was sent away to this world."

Zuko interrupted the speech, "Why do you need our help? Wouldn't the avatar be better suited for this?" The monsters glared at him with disapproval for having interrupted their leader.

"Calm yourselves, friends. They are only children. Now to answer your question, Zuko, the avatar would not be suited because he has no equal partner that he could work with. Let me begin with the origin of this world..."


	10. Part 10

"See the broken shards that are glowing at the mouth of the cave? These used to be a complete gem that kept our world from this one. The gem was given to us my the moon spirits and dragon so that the perfection that is contained in this valley could be maintained so that when future generations in this world eventually destroyed everything, there could be a fresh start. But someone broke the gem so that they could take one of the shards and use it for their own devices, so when they took a part of it, our world fell into yours. Now to get our world back, the gem has to be restored."

"So why can't you do that yourselves?" Zuko asked interrupting again.

With a heavy sigh, Zerubelub continued, "I only wish we could, but the gem must be put back together by a daughter of the moon and a son of the dragons. We really had no choice when we sought you out, but I am glad that you answered our calls."

"Wait," Katara said, speaking up for the first time since they had entered the cave, "You couldn't have called us. We were just running away from the fire nation guards."

"Well, you came to that waterfall didn't you? You came out of the caves away from your friends, didn't you? You looked into the cave, didn't you? We called you here, even though you may not have heard it, you certainly answered the call. Now, down to business. You must find the missing shard so that we can return to our world. If our valley stays here much longer, your whole world will be destroyed and all that will be left will be this valley."

After waiting a few seconds to make sure Zerubelub was done speaking, Zuko asked, "So how do we find the missing piece?"

"I take it you would like to help us?" Zerubelub asked with a smile gracing itself on his hideous face.

"I think we would," answered Katara with a smile also creeping onto her face.

"Good. We should start as soon as possible. The shard itself cannot leave the valley, so that narrows down your search considerably, but the valley itself is very large. I should think that you should start right away."

"Zerubelub," interrupted Shealtiel, the monster seated on the right side of Zerubelub, "shouldn't you tell them  _how_  to find the shard?"

"Oh, right, I'm getting ahead of myself. You find the shard by looking within yourselves. Thank you for helping us, now Naphoth, you should lead them back to the waterfall entrance," Zerubelub said in a closing tone. Naphoth stood up and walked to the entrance. Zuko and Katara were close behind.

"I'm sorry for their rudeness," said Naphoth when they were halfway through the large cavern. "Sometimes they can get a little ancy when it comes to the gem."

"That's alright," said Katara. "But I was wondering what Zerubelub was saying about looking within ourselves. Do you know what that means?"

"I would tell you, but if Zerubelub didn't then I shouldn't. The both of you should be fine, since you are benders, but if you need help, you can always talk to the forest." Zuko and Katara looked at each other, both thinking that the monsters were extremely unhelpful and crazy.

As the small group reached the exit of the large cavern, Naphoth said his goodbyes, and walked back. Zuko and Katara were left to go through the tunnel to the valley outside alone.


	11. Part 11

As Zuko and Katara came out of the cave behind the waterfall, they sat down near the water's edge, thinking about what the monsters had said to them.

Zuko broke the silence. "Do you think we should start right now?" he asked.

"I guess now is as good a time as any," Katara responded with a dismal sigh. They walked to the edge of the clearing, and surprisingly found a path leading through the forest. They followed it, until they reached a fork, one going to the right side of the valley, and the other going to the left.

"So," Zuko asked breaking the silence that had settled between the two of them, "which way should we go?"

"How should I know?" snapped Katara. She quickly covered her mouth. She hadn't wanted to sound that annoyed.

Zuko eyed her. "Well, you don't have to be so mean about it. Why don't we go left?"

"Fine," she said, again a little too harshly for her or Zuko's liking.

Katara's POV

 _Why am I responding so rudely to him?_  I asked myself as we started going along the path that Zuko had chosen.  _It's not his fault that we have to go on this stupid mission thing. I mean why couldn't they have chosen someone else. I really shouldn't have been mean to him, though. He was just trying to help, and I blew up at him. I hope he's not upset at me._  I continued along the path, walking behind Zuko, who had taken lead.  _He must know where he's going. He has that determined step in his stride. And that gorgeous hair on his head, and those perfect clothes that fit him just right. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME? I_  pulled myself out of my thoughts. My thoughts seemed totally out of line, along with my speech, but for some reason, I couldn't help it. I focused on the path in front of me, thinking about my weird demeanor when Zuko stopped suddenly, making me bump into him.

I looked in front of him to find the reason for his sudden stop. As I looked, I saw a trunk of a tree in the middle of the path, but it suddenly shifted to the right. I looked up to find a gigantic creature munching on leaves at the top of the trees. The monster must have been at least 200 ft high with a long neck, shorter body, well sized legs, all as thick around and as tall as a normal sized tree, and a long tail (who can guess what species of animal i'm talking about?). This creature was none like I had ever seen before, and I was scared to death. The creature leaned its large neck down, bringing its face closer to us, and I fainted, positive that the creature was going to eat us.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so im going to be finishing this pretty soon hopefully. this has been hanging over my head for several years now and will be finished by the 7th!!! (finally)

Zuko's POV

I stopped on the path when I realized that there was a gigantic creature standing on it. I didn't realize it was there until it had shifted its huge leg. I stood still, feeling Katara run into me and her breath hitch when she realized what was standing in front of us. The monster pulled its face lower, towards us, and I felt Katara slump against me. I looked behind me to find that she had fainted.

Thinking that the ginormous monster was going to eat us, I picked her up swiftly and darted into the forest on the left side of the path. I ran, trying not to trip or run into any trees with Katara in my arms, also trying not to pay attention to how soft her skin looked or how cute she looked in my arms. I was looking for a clearing of some kind so that I could make sure she was okay. She had been acting strangely since we had left the cave, and I had a hunch as to why.

After a good 15 minutes, I was able to find a clearing. I set Katara down and looked up to find a small pond in the middle of the clearing. I picked her up again to move her closer to the pond. I took a drink from the pond's crystal clear water and moved my attention back to Katara.

She was exactly where I left her beside the pool, sprawled across the grassy floor. Her forehead was hot to the touch, and when I touched her arm, I realized that the rest of her body was also over heated as well and probably dehydrated. I picked up her body again and set her in the shallow pond to try and cool down the hot fever she had.

Making sure her head stayed above the water, I looked around the clearing for something to prop it up against, but found nothing. I had to be her pillow until she woke up, not that I minded really.

I waited for some time as her body cooled, seated on the bank, when I noticed a gash in her arm. I hadn't noticed it before, but the gash looked very inflamed and was deep. Bending down over the pond, I scooped up some water to splash on the cut so that the cut wouldn't be too infected. I took some of my clothes, ripped some of the sleeve off, and tied it around the cut.

Hopefully Katara would come around quickly so that she could heal herself and we could be on our way.

Who knows how much time passed where I just sat there looking at her or at the beautiful and colorful foliage around me, but I was beginning to get tired. I pulled Katara out of the pond, she seemed to have cool down considerably, and settled her on the grass. I settled down next to her to fall asleep, all my worries slowly becoming distant.


	13. Chapter 13

Katara's POV

I woke up freezing except for the part of me that was against the soft pillow. I snuggled closer to it, not opening my eyes. As I turned over to get warmer, my pillow moved. I wasn't sure exactly how, since pillows are generally inanimate, but I pushed the thought to the back of my mind and moved again to get closer to the warmth that the pillow emited. Again the pillow moved further from me, but at this point I was falling back asleep. I made one last effort to get close to the pillow before I drifted to sleep again.

Zuko's POV

I woke up some time later to find Katara snuggled at my side. She was really cute when she wasn't yelling at me or bossing people around. I stood up and walked over to the pond to get a drink of water. As I bent over to dip my hands in the pond, I saw something glowing in the center of the pond. It seemed like a small piece of rock that glowed different colors. I was about to stick my hand in the water to grab it when I heard Katara moan in her sleep.

Katara's POV

I woke up to the sound of the birds, or birdlike creatures of the forest. I didn't remember much, but I did remember that I had been with Zuko. Where was he? I tried to sit up only to feel an intense burning sensation in my arm causing me to moan in pain. I think I got Zuko's attention from wherever he had gone because soon he was at my side checking my arm. He looked like he had just woken up recently as well. I gave him a small smile when he looked up from my arm.

“So what happened?” I asked, tired of just sitting and watching Zuko bandage my arm, which I had already tried to heal, but it turned out that I couldn't bend because of the cut or something. I think whatever cut me had some sort of weird poison in it, like a liquid chi blocker.

“Well, we saw a large creature, and you fainted, after being quite unlike yourself,” Zuko said carefully, as if not wanting to trigger a bad response from me. I think all my weird thoughts and what I had said earlier was triggered by the poison also.

“Oh, well, thanks for helping.” I think the poison isn't affecting my thoughts or speech any more. It's probably a minor side affect. “What were you doing just now?”

“Oh, there's a small pond in the clearing that we're in, and I saw something weird in it,” Zuko responded after finishing with dressing my arm.

“Ok, so you didn't check it out?”

“No, I heard you, so I had to make sure you were okay,” he said looking back at the pond.

Zuko's POV

I looked back at the pond so that Katara wouldn't see me blush. I really was interested in that shimmering rock thing, but I would have to see if Katara wanted to check it out or not.

“So do you want to see it?” I asked turning back to her.

“Sure,” she said getting up slowly and walking over to the pond.

As she reached the bank of the pond, she sat down on her knees and stared at the colorful rock. I sat next to her. She started to reach over the pond; she dipped her hand into the water right above the rock, and grabbed it, I think.

All of a sudden she started leaning over the pond. It seemed like her entire body would fall in the pond. I reached over to grab her, only to find that she kept on falling into the pond, dragging me with her. I felt myself go under the pond and travel through the water, which was far deeper that I remember the pond being above the surface. I kept a tight grip on Katara, afraid that I wasn't ever going to see anything of the world of air again.

 


	14. Chapter 14

Part 14

Zuko's POV

As we were dragged further and further under the water, I could feel myself getting light headed from the lack of oxygen. I didn't want to let go of Katara for any reason, but I knew I would black out soon. I didn't know when we would be able to get to the surface again, and the most important thing to me right now is holding onto Katara and getting some oxygen in my body.

After about ½ a minute, I couldn't take it anymore. I needed air. I opened my mouth and took a big gulp of the water. I coughed a little as the water hit my lungs, but something weird happened. I didn't feel like I was drowning and my headache was gone also. I looked up at Katara, from the moment we had entered the pond to now, my eyes had been closed, and found her smiling and breathing the water freely. She looked down at me and her smile grew even more. We were still being pulled along inside of the never ending pond, but at least we were alive.

Katara's POV

A while ago I figured out that I could breath under water. What a refreshing sensation. It's nothing like bending the water. But I'm still a little worried about where we were going. The small shimmering rock in the pool was still in my hand, but it seemed to be dragging us to some unknown location deeper into the pond. The rock provided a reassuring warm pulse to my hand. I looked down at Zuko to see that he had just figured out how to breath. He seemed slightly surprised and a little worried by this new found curiousity, but all the same, I was glad he hadn't passed out.

What drew my attention away from Zuko was a new light that had begun to shine in front of me. I turned my head to look at the bright light in the water. We were coming closer to it, and I found myself somewhat relieved that we were actually going someplace.

As we neared the light, I realized that we were inside of some sort of a tunnel. It looked like a mixture of an artificial tunnel and a natural tunnel, almost as if someone had carved the tunnel out using the currents of the water. I did notice, however, that there seemed to be carvings on the tunnel walls, but before I could look too closely at any of the carvings, Zuko and I were pulled into the light that had been at the end of the tunnel.

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

Katara's POV

As we were pulled into the light, I squinted my eyes, so that I could still see my surroundings. We were still underwater, being pulled by the rock in my hand, but we entered into some sort of underground cave full of water. But the cave was also full of was seemed like an underwater forest-city. There were creatures swimming all around, going in and out of little buildings, going on with their busy lives.

Zuko and I continued through the water; the rock seemed to be taking us to the center of the underwater metropolis. As we sped by the houses on the outskirts of the town, several of the underwater creatures came out to see what was happening; they were astonished to see us and quickly swam away to tell their friends about the strange creatures going through the city.

Many of the creatures followed us out of their houses into the center of the town. The rock set us down right beside the statue in the center of the main gathering area. The rock slipped out of my hand and settled itself inside Zuko's pocket. We looked up to find what looked like the entire city's population inside the main square with us, ogling at us.

Soon one of the older-looking creatures stepped forward and presently said, “Hello strange creatures. We are the underwater dwellers of the valley above. Please tell us you come in peace. If not, we will have to painfully kill you.”

Their straightforwardness surprised me, but before I could answer them, Zuko spoke up.

“We mean you no harm. We grabbed onto a stone in a pond from the valley above, and it brought us here.” The fact that we could talk astonished both Zuko and I, but we had much more pressing matters to attend to.

The creature seemed to measure us with his gaze before speaking.

“Take the top dwellers into my office. I will deal with them in a moment.”

Out of nowhere in particular, several very strong creatures came up behind us, and dragged us into a large building on the other side of square. The inside of the building was decorated elaborately, but we didn't see much because we were hurried up a set of stairs and into an office overlooking the square.

We were told to sit in two chairs in front of a large desk in the middle of the also elaborately decorated room.

Zuko's POV

We waited for quite some time before the aged creature entered the office and took his seat behind the desk.

He looked at us from under his furrowed eyebrows, still gaging us. We sat still for quite some time before he spoke up again.

“Top dwellers,” he said slowly, “my name in Ananias. I am the leader of this city. The moment I saw you being dragged into the main square with the rock you described, I knew the valley must be in danger. Our city cooperates with the creatures you first saw in the cave in the wall of the valley. I am here to help you in any way I can. Please accept our hospitality. However, you must not stay long. You were unaware, but you were followed from the moment you entered the valley. You will stay for a few days, become accustomed to the underwater life, but you must leave through a special network of ca–”

“Wait, just a minute,” Katara interrupted. “Why do we have to do all these things?”

The ancient creature smiled, silently chuckling, “I am just giving you the best course of action. You see, there is only one way out of the city, through the network of caves I described. To actually make it through the network of caves, you bodies must be accustomed to breathing underwater. I was just offering a suggestion that might be helpful. You may do whatever you wish, but we would also like for you to stay and enjoy our hospitality.”

Katara was slightly embarrassed, but said thank you all the same. We were lead to the creature's home, where we were provided with food, drink, conversation, and a place to sleep, which was used quite promptly

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

Katara and Zuko woke up to the sound of the metropolis getting ready for the day. They readied themselves to go out and explore the city but were somewhat apprehensive of the creatures. The moment they stepped out of the house, they were assaulted with the greetings of the creatures on the road. Zuko and Katara didn't know what to make of the friendliness but smiled back.

They explored the city for most of the day, but always had a feeling that they were being followed. The creatures were very friendly and inquisitive of the two land dwellers that were visiting, and Zuko and Katara got a lot of tours of the homes of the creatures. By the end of the day, Zuko and Katara collapsed into bed from exhaustion and slept soundly.

The next day was very much the same, but this time, one of the creatures gave Katara and Zuko a tour of the wildlife outside of the metropolis. There were many interesting plants with special properties, but the entire journey was also very tiring. After Katara, Zuko and the creature got back to the city, everyone was making preparations for a large feast to be held in honor of the two land dwellers. Katara and Zuko stayed up late while feasting and listening to the many stories told by the elders of the city.

By the end of the third day, Katara and Zuko seemed much more used to the water, and were able to do much more, but they didn't expect what was about to happen.

Katara's POV

We were swimming down one of the main roads of the city when a creature swam up to us, it's tail bleeding, telling us to see the elder of the city because the monster was following us. Sensing and urgency behind the creature's voice, we swam as fast as we could to the office we had been led to our first day here.

“I'm glad you are unhurt,” the aged creature remarked as we entered his office. “The monster following you showed itself earlier than expected, so you will have to flee the city now. We are going to keep the monster occupied while you escape, but the rock will guide you to the exit.” With that, I began to feel a tug in my pocket. I pulled out the rock only to be pulled to the door of the office and out, with Zuko just barely hanging on to my hand.

We yelled our good byes and thanks down the hall as we exited the council building. We were pulled to the other side of the underwater cave. There were numerous caves on the wall, but the rock lead us to one of the caves closer to the cave floor. Zuko and I barely fit inside the opening, and we both quickly grew claustrophobic.

I heard the yells coming from the city, even though we were in the cave, and I cringed at the sound. I could feel Zuko's hand squeezing mine in reassurance. We continued down the dark tunnel for who knows how long, but soon, I began to hear noises much like scuffling behind us. The monster had gotten through the city and was in the cave behind us. This worried me the most, but the rock pulled us faster as if in response to hearing the monster closer.


	17. Chapter 17

Katara's POV

The farther we went in, the darker the blackness seemed to be. I didn't exactly enjoy the feeling of absolute darkness around us, but what choice did I have. If we stopped, the monster would've caught up with us. So we continued.

After a long time, I'm not sure exactly how long, we began to see a light ahead. It was reassuring that we were making progress.

Soon enough we were exiting the horrid tunnel and we were spewed out of a waterfall. It seemed that there were many valleys inside this larger one. So we were amazingly carried into the valley. We didn't bother resting when we had reached the bottom so that we could put as much distance as possibly from whatever was following us.

We ran through forest-like foliage. It was a very large forest with trees also quite large. During the run, we didn't see any animals, or hear any birds of any sort. All seemed abnormally quiet.

Zuko stopped ahead of me. “It doesn't feel like we're making any progress,” he commented. I had been feeling the same way, but there was no way to confirm our suspicions. “Should we continue?”

I nodded. “We want to get away from whatever's following us. I'd prefer to do it where we can at least have a chance of killing it.”

We continued in relative silence aside from our footfalls.

It wasn't long before the forest began to thin out. Not expecting this, we slowed down to look for any signs of life, intelligent or otherwise. Ahead of us, the forest ended abruptly.

There was another very impressive city much like the one from earlier. It didn't look very inhabited, though. In fact, it looked deserted. But that never stopped us from waltzing right in.

There was a gate to go through to enter the city, and as we passed the portal, the floor fell from under us. I was unconscious before I hit the bottom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i realize these chapters are very short but i can promise you longer ones towards the end


	18. Chapter 18

Zuko's POV

I didn't really remember falling or blacking out or anything, but when I realized we were at the bottom of the hole, I looked around to make sure we weren't in any immediate danger. To my surprise, there was a group of people there to meet us.

In the very front of the group was my mother! I will never know how, but in that moment I was elated.

“Mom!” I yelled. She fixed her eyes on me. Her whole face brightened.

“Zuko!” she called. She came over to me and helped me up from off the ground. She hugged me when I was steady on my feet. “I've missed you so much! How did you get here?”

“I'm not really sure,” I said hugging her back. “Where's Katara?”

“Who?” she asked with a confused look on her face. “Is that the girl on the ground next to you?” I looked over, and sure enough, Katara was sitting up looking at us with wide blue eyes. She seemed to be a little scared, but recognized that I trusted my mother with my life. “Would you like to introduce me to her?” my mom asked while looking Katara over.

“Sure,” I said. I was quite happy that Katara wasn't afraid of her. “Mom, this is Katara. She's a master water bender and the teacher of the Avatar. Katara, this is my mom, Ursa.” They both smiled at each other.

“If I may,” said Katara somewhat shyly, “what are you doing here, Ursa?”

“Well, that is quite a long story that will need to be told some other time,” she said with a smile. “Why don't we get you two settled somewhere comfortable so you can rest?” I nodded. She turned to the group of people she had left earlier, “Can we get two rooms for my son and his friend. They must have come quite a long way to be with us now, and it would be in our interests to keep them safe.” Every person in the group seemed to understand and left to get the two rooms prepared. Turning back to Katara and I, she said, “Why don't we talk in my sitting room while they get your rooms ready. We can catch up there, and I can get to know Katara a little better.”

We both agreed, and followed my mom down a corridor that I hadn't noticed before.

We arrived a few minutes later, and entered her sitting room. It wasn't too fancily decorated but it was cozy enough to feel like home. Katara and I sat down, and my mom moved the one of the walls to prepare tea. After putting the pot of water over a fire to heat, she sat down across from us and settled in.

“So, do you want to tell me your story, or should I share mine?” she said with a smile.


	19. Chapter 19

Zuko and Katara looked up from the floor.

_It would be nice to know where mom's been this entire time._ Zuko thought.  _I mean she probably already knows everything we've been doing... plus it's good manners. I hope I haven't disappointed her at all._

Katara looked over at Zuko knowing that this was an important time for him, and that the mother and son would have a lot to catch up on. _I should probably leave them alone so they can get some time to themselves._

But just as Katara got up to leave, Ursa pulled her back down to sit. “I think you both should be here when I tell my story,” she said. “I know it has been a long time, Zuko, and yes there is a lot to catch up on. I'm so excited that I actually got to see you before you both left the valley. I will begin by telling my story, if you don't mind.” She stopped here to serve us the tea she had prepared. “Where shall I begin?” she asked herself. “How about the beginning.” she said coming to a decision. She, Katara and Zuko settled in for a comfortable and long discussion.

“Well, I was banished after killing the current Fire Lord at the time. I had already prepared my things, so the only thing to do then was to take them and get aboard a boat that I had prepared in advance. It was very hard to say good by to you, Zuko, because I thought that I would never see you again, but you were the only one that I knew I would miss. Your father was ruthless and cruel, so I would not miss his hurtful grabs or attempts to show his affection. Your sister gave me mixed feelings. I had wanted to say good bye to my only daughter, but in all honesty, I knew I would not miss her twisted mein or her cruel jokes. I worried about what would happen to her without some good influence on her life. I worried about you, mostly, Zuko, because I felt as if I was leaving you alone to deal with Ozai and Azula. What sort of mother leaves behind her child to people like that?

“Anyway, I made my way to the harbor with a few regrets and many uncertainties about the future. I didn't know what I would do with myself after having left everything I once knew. Before my departure I had also asked some servants to leave with me so that at least I would have them as company, but also to save them. Everyone would have been suspicious of my intent, so they might have killed my servants as well under the assumption that they helped me. I hoped that they would not hate me for taking them out of their comfort and routine lifestyle.

“After boarding and going out to sea, I was asked by the captain where we should go. I had thought quite a bit about it, but I had never come to a decision, so I told him that I didn't know. I was even more concerned because the state had given me the entire ship for my disposal as my parting gift. Similar to what happened to you, Zuko, as I heard many years later. I was given money as well so that I would be able to take care of everything. The captain decided that we needed to get out of the fire nation as quickly as possible so as to avoid any more issues with the government. That gave me about 5 days to decide were we were going to go.

“The first few days were uneventful with the exception of my servants and I getting used to sea travel. The open waters were refreshing, and the space was rejuvenating. I had not been out of the capitol since I was a little girl save the family vacations. The freedom the banishment gave me was quite a relief from the closed quarters of royal life. During those days, I go to know the crew and the servants more intimately, after all, I was a normal person because of the banishment. I no longer held my title officially, although the servants and crew treated me with great respect. I think they were wary of me at first, but soon I think they realized that even if I had killed the Fire Lord, my intentions were not murder, but to save someone. They all greeted me with large smiles that I had never seen inside the palace, and I greeted them the same way. They were such lovely people to be around. I cannot tell you, Zuko, how much life the servants have outside of the walls of the palace. The common people are entirely different from all the snobby rich governors and mayors and generals. They know how to live life well, you should learn from them. . .

“Anyway, I learned much from them about their daily lives and routines, and in turn I would tell everyone tales at night while everyone ate dinner around a fire. It was the only thing I could give them, but they seemed to enjoy it immensely. I would tell them stories from history, or tall tales made to keep small children up at night. Anything seemed to capture their attention. They soaked in everything and asked questions that could be answered with more stories. I enjoyed my time with them.

“One pair of servants really stuck me more than the others. It was a set of twin brothers and sisters. The two of them loved pranks. They were the source of laughter on the boat. They had grown up in a remote town on an island right by Ember Island. Their parents had 7 other children besides them, and the grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins all lived the the same large house as them. They enjoyed large meals and story time, but one year while the twins were still young, there was a large plague that sprung up from one of the other towns on the island. All trade and shipping was cut off from the island, and all the boats that the islanders owned were burned in an effort to keep the horrible disease from spreading. Their town was the last to get hit, and the parents sent all the children into different caves in volcano that had formed the island. The children had all the food that was left, and each group was assigned to come back at different times so that the children would have a chance to survive. The twins were put in the group to come back the latest, and were sent to the highest and most remote cave on the volcano. They stayed inside the cave for three weeks. They didn't even look out the mouth of the cave for fear they would catch whatever was causing everyone to be sick.

“After their three weeks of isolation, the twins came out of their cave and made their way down to their old town, but when they had gotten there, all that was left were ashes of the old buildings that had once stood. The ashes had looked weeks old because there was hardly any left due to the wind picking them up and moving them out to sea. A soldier was walking in what had been the town square. He had looked up and found the two of them all alone. They told him their story, and he took them to the capitol with him. He was a higher ranking man, and he used them as servants because they had no where to go. After some time, he found out he was going to be the leader of one of the larger colonies over in the earth kingdom. He wanted to take them with him, but the twins confided in him that they wanted to stay in the main land. He looked everywhere he could for a job for them together, but in the end he found jobs for the on the main land, but separately. The twins said good bye to their good master and good bye to each other as they split for their new jobs. The brother went to be a ship hand for someone the soldier knew. The captain of the ship welcomed him, but wasn't as friendly as his old master. The sister began working as a kitchen servant in the palace. As fate would have it, I took the sister with me when I was banished, and the brother was a ship hand on the ship I had for my banishment. So one good thing came out of the punishment. The twins were inseparable after that point, and enjoyed the mischief of their youth.

“But all that was very short lived. . .

“Very soon, there was a storm that hit us. We were just leaving the borders of the Fire Nation when that very night, the beginning of the worst began. The crew ordered everyone to their rooms and to stay there until the storm passed. Some of the servants did rounds, making sure that everyone was okay and that they had everything that the would need until the storm stopped. The sister twin was beside herself, having been separated from her brother for the first time since they had seen each other. There was little we could do from below, so we sat together in relative silence.

“I thought back to the stories of the days before the war began. I remember hearing that there used to be at least one water bending master on every ship so that if there was a storm, the ship wouldn't be destroyed entirely. At that moment I realized how foolish and prideful the fire nation had become. We were so sure of ourselves we didn't think that anyone else was worth our time, when in reality, we had used the services of others to keep from being killed by nature. Our pride, I was sure, would be our downfall in the end.

“We spent many days waiting for the storm to let up, but it only kept on getting worse. Many of us were used to our new life under the boat, but I think the twins suffered most during this part of the trip.

“Soon after the 5th day, we were allowed on deck. The boat was a wreck. The captain told us to enjoy the peace while it lasted because we were only in the eye of the storm. He told everyone that he had never seen such a large storm in his entire life. We all were slightly put down to hear the news that we were only half done with the monster of a storm that seemed to have already almost destroyed the ship. Soon we were told to go back below the deck so that we could continue in our journey out of the storm.

“About the third day since we had seen the sky, the ship began to give out. There was no way for us to call for help; in fact, no one would help us even if we had asked. We all made our way to the deck so we wouldn't get stuck inside the ship and drown that way. Together we stood waiting for the boat to sink. The ship actually broke into several smaller parts before it sank, thanks to the storm. We all tried to grab onto some piece of the boat that would float, and we tried to stay together. We were left adrift in the storm for days after the ship sank. Many of our group drowned within the first two days, and only a few of us were left by the end of four days. The twins died together, being swept underwater by one of the larger waves created by the winds. I would like to think they were happy that they got to see each other, even if it meant that they had to die. I think they appreciated that they could die next to each other.

“Soon, I was the only one left. The storm showed no signs of letting up. I continued to hold onto my piece of wood that I had found. But slowly, I was loosing strength. After the 6th day from being shipwrecked, I let go of the piece of wood. I never had been taught how to swim in all my years. Probably because whoever was teaching me never deemed it important compared to the other things a noble should know. I could feel myself getting pulled deeper and deeper. The already darkened blue turned darker as I sank deeper. As I accepted that I was going to die, I couldn't help but shake that feeling that I had left something unattended. I wanted to live to finish whatever it was, but I knew there was no way I could survive this. I hadn't lost consciousness when I hit the bottom of the ocean floor. It was much shallower that I had anticipated, and it was strange considering we were in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no land withing hundreds of miles from our point. I sat on the bottom of the sea wondering how much longer it would take before I died when I saw something moving towards me.

“At first I thought the thing was some sort of sea animal looking for something to satisfy its hunger, but as the object got closer, it looked more and more like a human. Then, it appeared right in front of my face. It was a woman with dark hair, blue eyes and dark skin. From her clothing, which was quite torn and battered, I guessed she was from the water tribe. I had never met anyone from outside the fire nation before, and I thought it ironic that I was finally meeting someone while I was on the verge of dying.

“She was sort of transparent. I knew she was there, but at the same time, I could see some light from the surface flickering through her body. She must be dead, I thought. I must be dying since I can see her. She leaned in closer.

“ 'Hello,' she said in a watery voice, 'My name is Kya.' She smiled. I tried to smile to and respond, but found that I couldn't while trying to stay alive. She game me a knowing look.

“ 'I would like to help you,' she told me. 'You have something you regret don't you. You can't die in peace.' She looked me in the eyes. I instantly knew she had experience the same thing, but she had still died. I didn't know why she was here, but I hoped that she could help me. 'I was given the job by the spirits to help someone that I came across. They told me that the person would be a mother like I was and would not wish to die until they fulfilled their wish. The spirits told me the wish would be the same as mine: to help my child.' The instant she said that, I realized what had been bothering me. I hadn't wanted to leave Zuko alone, but I couldn't help him. I knew that this was my greatest desire. 'I will help you; I can see that you desire to help your child as well. I believe that we can help our children together. Before you die down here, I will meld my spirit with yours, and it will give you spirit like abilities but you will still be alive. You cannot remain in the living world, so I will take you to a place that I know of so that we can discover a way to help our children.' I was overjoyed that I wouldn't have to dye leaving Zuko all alone and helpless in the world. I braced myself for the melding of our souls. It was a slightly unpleasant experience because I soon felt as if there was no room in my body, but I figured I would get used to it. When she had finished melding with my soul, I began to feel the effects immediately. I could breath, first, second, I could move quite easily under the water. Her voice was quiet but soothing inside my head ' _We need to go straight. We will hit some land and then we can begin to arrange plans to help them._ ' I listened to her. It seemed that I was the only one who could control my body, but she seemed to be very connected to the spirits, because she pointed out quite a few spirits that lived in the waters we were walking through.

“Once we were on the land that she had told me about, we began our planning. ' _First I need to tell you about the place that we will be going to._ ' I nodded. ' _It is a valley that is untouched by the spirit or living world. It is a world between worlds where some of the living managed to stay and grow without interference. This place is special because it is almost like a hub for souls without a home. We can go there first so that we can gather ourselves. I realize, though, that you may want to make a few pit stops along the way. I would agree with you. We will not need food now that I am within you. If I may suggest, I would say we should visit our children before. Just so we have an idea of how they are getting on.'_

“I nodded again. I had really been missing Zuko, and I really wanted to see how he was doing. I was also curious as to who the child of Kaya was. She seemed sweet enough, but I thought that maybe the family would be quite broken without her. 'Alright,' I said. 'We should visit you child first. I think it would be better since I would assume you have been away from them longer than I from my child.' ' _Thank you,_ ' she said. ' _I would appreciate that greatly. My home is in the South Pole, so it may take some time to get there. How about I show you a trick us spirits use?_ ' I agreed. Any trick would be appreciated. ' _So when you want to go somewhere, think of the place really hard in your head, and you will appear there._ ' I thought it seemed sort of childish, but I concentrated on one of the few paintings of the South Pole that I had seen. I thought that it might be a long shot considering the changing landscape, but it seemed to work. We ended up in the middle of a village full of people.

“I could feel Kaya smiling inside of me. I realized we were in her village. But at the same time I realized we were invisible. I began wandering around, since Kaya wasn't being specific in any place that she wished to go. I think she was slightly nervous about being back. Maybe she hadn't been back since she had died. We finally reached the largest home. A tall and handsome man stepped out of the doorway, and I could feel Kaya hold her breath. That must be her husband, I thought to myself. I was glad he was still alive for her sake. Next, I walked slowly into the home made of ice after her husband had gone away. I had never been inside of a home like this one so it fascinated me, but at the same time it felt familiar. I attributed the familiarness to Kaya's memories.

“Inside were a boy and a girl, both still sleeping. It was very early in the morning, but as I walked inside, the girl began to stir. She sat up and looked at us. I could feel Kaya's heart breaking. This must be the child, I thought. She looked like Kaya with her big blue eyes. I was almost convinced the child could see us, the way she was staring, but as I moved around the home, the child continued to stare blankly at the wall behind us. I could feel Kaya begin to get sad as I watched the girl get up slowly and begin getting ready for the day.

“I moved over to take a look at the still sleeping boy. He seemed older that the girl who was getting ready, but also much more immature. He looked calm in his sleep. I walked away after a few minutes of studying him, for Kaya's sake. We walked outside and meandered through the rest of the village. Kaya hadn't spoken in a long time.

“ ' _I thought I might never get to see them again,_ ' she said quietly after some time of meandering. ' _They've grown so much. I hope they do well. We should go_.' With that I walked out of the village. We walked for some time. I was hoping to give Kaya some time to think after seeing her kids for the first time, but it seemed she began to get impatient. ' _I wish to see you child. I know you long to see him,_ ' she coaxed me to going there not long after we had left the village. I concentrated on my old room at the Fire Nation Palace, and we were soon standing there.

“My room was unchanged from the time I had left. I could feel Kaya's interest peak. I walked with familiarity to what I knew would be Zuko's rooms. Hopefully he was still asleep and we would get a chance to see him like I saw Kaya's children. Alas, he was not asleep. We began going through the palace in search of him. I found him by the duck pond with Ozai. I grew slightly upset at seeing them. I didn't want Ozai so close to my son because I knew that he would poison my son's mind. Zuko turned around suddenly and looked straight at us. I moved over to the side, to see if his eyes would follow. They did, but they were quickly turned back to his father as Ozai said something about paying attention. I felt a presence behind me after some time of watching Zuko.

“ 'Isn't it nice to see your son again, Ursa,' Iroh said. I was startled, and so was Kaya. No one had ever talked to us before. 'Do not be alarmed. I just got back from the Earth Kingdom. I had an interesting journey there after my son died. I went to the spirit world. I have to say it is quite interesting that you are here in a spirit form and not somewhere else. No matter.' He was quiet for some time. 'I would guess that you are here to check up on Zuko. I would like to say that you need not worry too much about him. I will try my best to take care of him in the best way I know, like my son.' I saw him get sad. I reached out to put a hand on his shoulder and found I could touch him.

“ 'Iroh, please do look after Zuko.' I told him. He gave me a strange look.

“ 'I see you have melded with some other spirit,' he said. 'I will take care of Zuko as you wish, but I must ask if there is anything else that you would like.' This time he seemed to be talking to Kaya. I don't know how I could tell the difference, but she perked up. ' _I would like him to take care of my daughter, Katara, should he ever come into contact with her._ ' I relayed the message. 'I will do so,' he responded. 'I have a feeling that Katara and Zuko's futures will be as intermixed as their mothers' spirits are at this moment. I hope to guide them both if I can.' He smiled. I waved good bye, and started walking out of the palace.

“ ' _I am glad that that man is good and that he will take care of our children for now._ ' I could feel Kaya's relief. Hopefully Iroh would meet Katara and try to take care of them both in the best way he knew. For now I was worried about getting to this place that Kaya had told me about earlier. ' _I will show you the way. While we were talking with Iroh, I was told by one of the spirits that the place that we must go has been having some problems and has been sent to the living world until those who can fix it come and restore what has been lost. In fact, it is in the Western Air Temple area near a new city that the fire nation just founded recently. We can get there on a boat that is leaving soon._ ' I thought it a good idea, so we got on the boat Kaya had mentioned.

“It didn't take long for us to reach the new city, and soon we were walking away from the city and into the forest to find the new place for us to settle. We ended up on a cliff edge looking into a large valley. I was drawn to it, and we entered. As we wondered around the valley, we came upon a group of people living there. Their people were as old as time itself, and they had some sort of precious relic that they were keeping safe for the foretold ones. They needed to go into hiding because many more monsters were looking for the relic to destroy it. Kya and I offered our services to the people and began helping them. Then you two showed up, and here we are.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all the new content begins after this chapter (as in stuff i wrote in 2015 and not like 10 yrs ago *exaggeration*)


	20. Chapter 20

Zuko's POV

Katara had just come out of Ursa's room. Her mom had wanted to talk to her, find out how her brother and father had held up after Kya had left. Understandably, it was very personal and would take a long time, considering Kya had to talk through Ursa. So Zuko had spent that day talking to the other people there, listening to their stories, hearing how they got into the Valley, how they met his mother.

Katara gave him a tired look before going into her room to retire. His mom came out shortly after. She looked worn out, but not nearly as much as he would have expected.

“How are you?” she asked him, sitting down on the mat to his left.

“Fine. You have a lot of very nice people here from all over,” he replied. Ursa's face lit up. From all the things that Zuko remembered, Ursa's love for people was always the most outstanding. So it made sense that these lost souls had found their way to her, coupled with what Katara had said about her mother, who also seemed kindhearted, people seemed to ove them.

“We plan on giving you the shart tomorrow so that you can conntinue and make things right,” Ursa stated breaking the silence that had blanketed them for a few moments. “We already told Katara, but when we give you the shard, Kya's and my work here in the Valley will be done. We plan on moving on to the Spirit World after.” Zuko's eyes widened. “It's something we had been hoping to do for some time, but we wanted to see you again, and to give you the shard we had acquired.”

“But I'll see you again?” Zuko managed.

Ursa looked sadly at her son. “Perhaps. The Spirit World is a large place, but we may.” Zuko nodded.

* * *

The next morning was full of activity. Many safety precautions were in place for taking the shard of the gem out of its hoe. Everyone was doing something, but Zuko also saw the people getting ready for Ursa and Kya to leave. Their community would be different without them, but they seemed to have measures in place so that their presence would not effect anything aside from the hearts of the people.

Katara seemed to recognize the preparations as well, frowning a little anytime someone walked by. The two of them were sitting idly, waiting for Ursa, Kya, and te gem shard in what appeared to be the main courtyard. Zuko was feeling uncomfortable, shifting his weight from foot to foot seeing all this work going on around him without being able to help. Earlier Katara had tried, but got shot down quickly, told harshly that there was no way Kya's daughter was going to do any work, and that she should sit down and enjoy the break because who knows how long it would be before Katara and Zuko had that opportunity again.

So the two of them sat in fairly companionable silence that would have been unthinkable and awkward at the beginning if their journey. Very soon everyone was finishing up the preparations and were settling down in the courtyard.

Ursa sat inbetween Katara and Zuko. “Thank you everyone for having given Kya and me the opportunity to get to know all of you. We have had the privaledge of keeping this community together through out leadership, but out time in this Valley is over, and we can finally be at peace, having seen out children for the last time. The spirits have granted us the honor of helping our children in their quest by giving them the shard of a gem our village found many years ago. You have all helped them through you service keeping the shard safe, and we thank you for your cooperation in this manner.

“As Kya and I say goodbye to our children, we also say goodbye to you as we go onto the Spirit World. We hope you all take good care of yourselves and each other and carry the love Kya and I had for you in your hearts, giving it to those around you, as well. Now if the guards would bring the shard, we can begin by sending our children off.”

The selected members of the community came forward, making sure that the shard of the gem made it to the front of the crowd where Ursa, Katara and Zuko were. Carefully presenting the piece to Ursa, the members went to take their seats.

“I give this to Zuko and Katara that they may be on their way and finish their task with success.” She rose, motioning for Katara and Zuko to do the same. She gave it to Katara, who carefully stuffed it into her bag, which had been given to them for provisions, making sure it wouldn't get more damaged or fall out. “May you have safe travels and finish with speed.”

Katara and Zuko started through the crowd to leave the village behind, already having said goodbye, now entirely focused on their task. The crowd parted for Katara and Zuko, moving forward so that the people could say goodbye to Ursa and Kya one last time.

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok. So this chapter and the next one are it. To be honest I am so aware of how awful this is. It was written over the course of over 6 years, so there is a lot of inconsistency in the writing style. I think the only reason I didn't abandon it was the fact that finishing it would give me peace about it. So here I am posting something that should have been finished forever ago and will rest in pieces at the bottom of the fandom trash in the ATLA fandom. May it stay there until the end of eternity. I'm not going to ever go back and edit it, but I think it was good to get it all out there... (right?)

Zuko and Katara spet the next few hours outside the city following the map the villagers gave them, but soon they could also sense someone following them. Whenever Zuko or Katara tried to turn around to catch their stalker, they never found them. So they kept going, ensuring that there was always someone on watch.

Very soon their map ceased to be useful,a dn they could fell the presence of their follower more the further they went. At this point they were wandering aimlessly, hoping they were going in the correct direction. 

One nigh, while Katara was on watch, he hit their camp. She didn't see much, having been turned the other way, but she heard a woosh, and suddenly one of their packs was missing. The same ting happened with Zuko the next night until they were both left with only what they had in their arms: a bit of food and water.

So eventually they met the thing that was following them. He didn't stay under the cover of night when he wanted to confront them. This time they were able to put a name to the creature that had been following them for so long.

“Jet?” asked Katara. Zuko did a double take, having been more focused on assessing their surroundings than the face of their stalker.

“Yes, Katara. It's me, but I'm different now, too,” he smirked. “You see, after you left me with Snelopy and Longshot, they eventually realized what a lost cause I was. So before they could die as well, they ran, leaving me alone to die. But right before I died, a spirit visited me. At first I thought I was hallucinating from the pain, but I soon realized that it was trying to give me another chance, something you didn't deign to give me.” Zuko looked over at Katara worriedly, but she was fixated on Jet. What concerned him most was how similar Jet's story was to their mothers'. “I decided to take the spirit up on its offer. Anything is better than dying, really. And before I could change my mind, the spirit melded with my body and brought me to this boring valley.

“You see, Katara, I had already gotten tired of leading the freedom fighters. They're just kids, so its not like we'd make a big difference in a war. But then after being under the control of the Dai Li, I knew I didn't want to spend my life under the control of others. So while doing much of nothing here, I talked with the spirit, and he gave me this astounding realization. I had only disliked the leadership of the freedom fighters because we were on the losing side. If I had all the power, and didn't have to worry about my life and the lives of the people that followed me, I would be able to lead well, better than before.

“So don't you see. I was a fool earlier, and I realize that. But now I can lead this valley and the people in it with the shard. All you have to do is give it to me. I know what's best for these people. I've lived here for some time. They don't have everything we had in the world of the living. They all live poorly, Katara. I just want to help them. Zuko, you know how it is to live without having. You must understand.”

“From what I've seen,” Zuko responded, “you would make a poor leader. You're selfish, Jet, especially with that spirit planting ideas in your mind. You used to care about fairness and equality, but now . . . you don't care about that. You care about yourself. This valley isn't here for you to rule, Jet. It's here as a last resort and the creatures already ruling understand this.” Jet made a face. “You're a human. What do you know about the needs of this valley?”

“I know more than you,” Jet spat. _How can he even begin to tell you he knows better. How long has he been here? Days compared to your year. He knows nothing of this place, unlike you. Between the two of s, we are more than prepared to lead._ “You don't know anything, Lee, if that's even your name. If you think I'm in a bad position, you shouldn't even even be talking. What do you know about this valley, its people and what they need?”

Katara chuckled. “You can't even see it can you?” she looked Jet in the eye when he took his gaze off Zuko. “Zuko knows he's not prepared to take care of these people. We're both here doing what we were told by people who do know what they are doing. You . . . you're just trying to get the people to do what you want. You can't think about their needs because you're so focused on yourself.”

“You're wrong! I'm nothing like that!” Jet lunched from his place a few meters in front of them, prepared to attack them. But, like his own leading abilities, he sorely miscalculated, and it barely look a blow from Zuko to get Jet on the floor unconscious.

 

 

“We can't just leave him here,” Katara started.

“Well, we can't take him either. Besides, its his time to go to the spirit world. He's just been trapped here with nothing but that scheming spirit and his own thoughts. It would be better for him to move on than for us to bring him with us.” Katara frowned.

Katara and Zuko prepared to continue their journey, and the more Katara thought about it, the more she realized that Zuko was right. She had left Jet to die because it was his time, and now he needed to move on from this valley and the spirit inside him to hopefully rest over in the spirit world.


	22. Chapter 22

Leaving Jet behind was still difficult, but as Katara and Zuko physically moved on, Katara found most of her doubts leaving as well. It still took some time for Zuko and Katara to make their way to the cave, but as they saw the entrance, they looked at each other. This time, there was no heart racing fear as they walked. While the place was not familiar, it was no longer an unknown, no longer a threat.

The group that had sent them off greeted Katara and Zuko upon their arrival.

“Everything went smoothly?” asked Zerubelub, reaching his hand out to accept the shard from Zuko's hand.

“Not quite,” replied Katara, “but everything got worked out. We made it here with the shard. The leader smiled. _Yes_ , Katara thought, _everything will be alright._

“Well, that cannot always be helped,” Zerubelub stepped away, moving towards the broken gem to put the shard with the rest. Katara and Zuko watched intently as the shards glowed, slowly coming together to form a whole gem. As they watched, they did not notice they were becoming drowsier due to the reshaping of the gem.

* * *

Katara woke up with an ache in her neck. She sat up, rubbing it, looking at the still smoking campfire in front of her. She turned to the right to find Zuko also slowly waking up. As she watched him, she remembered the shard, their quest, and the valley. She stood up abruptly, trying to orient herself. They were no longer in the cave. Now they appeared to be on a cliff with a river running over on the left of the campsite, creating a waterfall that fell into the ocean.

She looked at Zuko to confirm that he was also seeing what she saw. Just as she was about to speak, they both felt a rumbling beneath their feet. Looking over the cliff, they saw an opening clear with the rest of the gaang pouring out. Aang looked up, waving with a large smile.

“We found them!” he shouted to everyone behind him.

* * *

As everyone settled into Zuko and Katara's camp, Sokka explained how they had found them.

“At first we were super concerned that we couldn't find you, but we followed the tunnels for a few days and then Toph felt your heartbeats, so we just followed those. I'm glad you guys are ok, though,” he pointedly looked at them both. “We were worried the fire nation had gotten to you.” Sokka stood up to go help everyone else set up camp.

“Katara,” Zuko started when Sokka had gotten out of ear shot, “we can't let them know. I mean, they think its only been a few days. I don't think they would believe us even if we did.” Katara looked over to where everyone was gathering around the campfire to get dinner.

“Yeah,” she murmured. “I think you're right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's a wrap. Hey, if you're reading this, I can't believe you've made it all the way through. So hit me up with a comment or something cuz honestly i wouldn't blame u if you hadn't... anyway have a nice life...


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